Barbados Government Information Service published an article on May 15, 2018, about the appeal to strengthen cybersecurity in the country. Here’s a quick summary just for you.
An appeal has been made to Barbados and the region to improve their information protection, especially in the light of the recent implementation by the European Union of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) on data security. This came from Daidre Leacock, Business Development Officer at the Caribbean Israel Center for Cyber Defense (CICCD), during a press conference at the Barbados Investment Development Corporation (BIDC) this morning.
Key points:
- Effective May 25, 2018, the legislation elevates personnel data to the level of being an asset. Under the GDPR, any entity, governmental or private, which possess information of any EU citizen or business, would be mandated to put in place policies to ensure that information is adequately protected.
- Any organization or company who fails to do so will be held responsible for any information lost during a cyber-attack. The entity in question could be fined up to 4% of its global income, or up to EUR 20 million.
- Also, it mandates that the data protection authorities in the European Union must be notified within 72 hours of the breach and the names of the parties involved.
- Leacock advised Barbados agencies and companies, including those owned by the Government, which are engaged in business with European companies or citizens, to take steps to ensure compliance, such as training.
- In that regard, the CICCD has collaborated with the Island Data Processing Agency, the Telecommunications Unit, the Barbados Defense Force and the BIDC to raise awareness of cyber risks.
- This will be done through two webinars organized by the Mer Group, one of the world’s leading and ground-breaking cybersecurity and intelligence companies. The webinars will be streamed via its website, on Tuesday, May 29, and on Wednesday, May 30.
Reference: gisbarbados.gov.bb
Contributed by: Sabrina Shim from Jamaica. Sabrina is a member of the WISC Discord group from the G5 Cyber Security Foundation Ltd. Learn more about WISC (Women in InfoSec Caribbean) at wiscaribbean.org. WISC is a non-profit initiative supporting Caribbean women and girls to develop a career in Information Security.